Brenton Wood, Singer Behind ‘The Oogum Boogum Song,’ Dead at 83

Brenton Wood, the soul singer behind 1967 hit single “The Oogum Boogum Song” and who formed his own record label in the Seventies, has died at the age of 83.

Wood’s death was confirmed by his manager and assistant, Manny Gallegos, who told Variety that the artist died from natural causes at his home in Moreno Valley, California.

Born on July 26, 1941 in Shreveport, Louisiana, his family moved to coastal San Pedro in Los Angeles, California, where he attended high school in Compton. Wood, born Alfred Jesse Smith, later enrolled in East Los Angeles College, and began to expand his interests in music, taking on the stage name Brenton Wood.

After signing with Double Shot Records in 1967, Wood delivered three of his biggest hits that year including “The Oogum Boogum Song” (which reached Number 19 on the Billboard R&B charts), “Gimme Little Sign” (hitting Number Nine on the Hot 100), and “Baby You Got It” (which topped at 34).

During an interview with LAist, when asked what the meaning behind “Oogum Boogum” was, Wood replied, “It was [Abracadabra] because they were casting a spell on me.” The musician told the outlet that although he didn’t like the track when the label first brought it to him, he spent six weeks reworking it until he was satisfied. The artist’s hit track has been featured on several films and TV shows including Almost Famous and Don’t Worry Darling.

“I was laughing all the way through,” he said. “I thought, boy, this is gonna be catchy.”

He formed his own label Prophesy Records in 1972 and throughout the decades continued to release music on Mr Wood Records.

He announced his final tour, Catch You On The Rebound: The Last Tour, in 2024. The trek was named after another 1967 song by Wood of the same name. In his statement to Variety, Gallegos said that Wood’s last words to his fans were, “Catch you on the rebound.”